NEW TOWN HALL

Evening Star, Issue 19352, 11 September 1926, Page 5

NEW TOWN HALL

SKETCH PLANS PREPARED MAIN HALL LARGEST IN DOMINION SEATING CAPACITY OF OVER 3,000. Within a few years Dunedin will have a Town Hall worthy of the city which, lor buildings handsome and solid, is unequalled in New Zealand. Li company with the deputy-mayor (Cr W. B. Taverner), a reporter yesterday had the opportunity of inspecting at the office of Messrs. Mandeno and Fraser, arc m tects, the sketch plans of the new building which is to be erected at the rear of the present Town Hall. It will be remembered that a competition lor designs for a new Town Hall was held in 1914, and was won by Mr H. Mandeno. A WORTHY MEMORIAL. Apart from the gratifying news that they are to get a new Town Hall, Dunedin citizens should be proud or the fact that it is to be erected practically without any loan money. Thanks to the scheme proposed by the town clerk (Mr G. A. Lewin) and sponsored by the Finance Committee under Cr w. B. Taverner, the new building will be paid for by diversions of renewal funds and by the appropriation of halt tho surplus profits of the several trading departments of the corporation to March 31, 1926. The abnormal profits of the last financial vear were in part duo to the Exhibition, and consequently it will not be amiss to look upon the new Town Hall as a memorial of an undertaking towards the unbounded success ot which so many Dunedin citizens contributed. In his minute to the City Council on the subject, Mr Lewin stated:—" Not only would it in a sense commemorate the Exhibition, but the edifice, when completed, would be tangible evidence of the successful operations of the city’s trading activities—activities to wdiicli the council can point, 1 venture to say, with some degree of pardonable pride. . . To appropriate, at least a portion of the excess profit due to tho Exhibition to so worthy an object as the erection of a Town Hall would seem to bo a fitting consummation to the Exhibition venture.” LOCALLY-MADE MATERIALS. The main entrance to the now structure will be in Moray place. In appcaranco the building will be in keeping with the finest in Dunedin, and an endeavor will be made to make it a little more dignified than the frontage of the present Town Hall building. It will be in the free Renaissance style. So far it has not been decided what materials will bo used in the construction. but it is satisfactory to know that, as far as possible, they will all bo locally made. A good deal of steel will bo used, and the inside will bo made fireproof. _ ' From tho street line to the top ot tho root ridge the height ot the new structure wi'l be 75ft. The dimensions overall will bo 222 ft by 12Sft—a huge structure. The main entrance will be a striking feature. Access to the municipal offices will still bo obtained from the Octagon, but the chief entrance to the new main ball will be from Moray place. There will also be entrances to the concert chamber and the main hall from tho lane between the Cathedral and the Town Hall, this being 30ft ■wide, and being reserved for one-way traffic. LARGE MAIN HALL.’ Tho most important portion of the new structure will be, of course, the big main hall, the need of such a provision having been felt in Dunedin for many years. It will bo situated on the Moray place end of tho building, and will be the largest ball in New Zealand. With a seating capacity of over 3,000, it will eclipse the town halls of both Wellington and Auckland. In addition to the seating accommodation in the main part of the ball on tho ground floor, there will be a gallery extending right over the foyer at the entrance, and capable of seating 950 people, and an upper gallery, which will seat 500. The main hall will be about 55ft high inside, and will, of course, occupy the two stories of the building. There will be accommodation on the stage for a choir of 250 voices, and space will be provided for tho organ, for which arrangements are made for obtaining specifications from English manufacturers, together with prices for a suitable instrument, which will be of the latest type, and probably tho best it New Zealand. THE CONCERT CHAMBER. Next in importance to tho main hall comes the concert chamber, capable of seating 900 people, and occupying a floor space of 80ft by 50ft, with additional stage spate. Both the main hall and the concert chamber will have floors suitable for dancing, the floor of tho concert hall being specially sprung for the purpose. Between the concert hall and the main hall will be a large supper room, in which several hundred people may be accommodated. There will be the necessary kitchen appliances. _ The supper room will serve another important purpose. It entirely disconnects the main hall and the concert chamber, so that, when functions are being held simultaneously a minimum of noise will go from one to the other. EXTRA OFFICE ACCOMMODATION. No alterations will lie made in the present building, except that provision will bo made for access to the new structure. The rear of tho first floor of the present building will connect with the first floor of the new portion, and on top of the concert chamber, which inside is 30ft high, provision is made for reception rooms for the mayor and mayoress and for tho caretaker’s quarters. Room is also provided for an extension of tho offices of the town clerk’s department and other offices as the extra accommodation is required. Around the concert chamber and main ball there will be ample performers’ and cloak rooms and other conveniences. Against the back wall of the old building a lift will be installed to give access to tho first floor. Strict attention will be paid to the acoustic properties of the new building, and ventilation will bo carried out on modern lines. The premises will be heated throughout by a steam plant. AN IMPOSING ENTRANCE. The Moray place frontage of the new structure will have a particularly fine and imposing entrance. The foyer, as it. is called, will have five doorways, including one leading direct to the upper galleries. Broad flights of steps will lead from the footpath to the foyer. There will bo entrances to the hall on both sides of the building. GRAND PIANOS DONATED. Dunedin citizens must be gratified to know that, through the generosity of two Dunedin firms, the main hall and the concert ball will be each equipped with a full orchestral grand piano. The donors are The Bristol Piano Company and Messrs Charles Begg and Co. The munificence of Dunedin citizens has always been so great that it would not be surprising to bear of the main hall being equipped with an organ in this way. . The sub-committee of the City Council which has the Town Hall project in hand comprises Crs Taverner, Clark, and Wilson. It has gone carefully into tho matter, and, having viewed the sketch plans, lias now advised the architect to proceed with complete pencilled plans for submission to the council.